Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Southern Food > New York Food

Some people seem to be under the impression that New York City has some of the best food in the world. Sure there are great Irish pubs and restaurants that advertise "Japanese tacos and Mexican sushi", which sounds very risky to me. But don't let the abundance of Zagat ratings in the city fool you, Southern food is where it's at.

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As a Texas girl, born and raised, I have a deep love for Mexican food. Some call it Tex-Mex, but whatever you want to call it, it's goooood. I've lived in NYC for almost 3 years and I have not found even 1 "Mexican" restaurant that comes close to the stuff back home.
The salsa here is basically a mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro, which down south I believe we call pico de gallo.
When I get beans with my meal I usually expect refried or charro beans to be served, but up north they only serve black beans. Such a let down.

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BBQ doesn't exist in New York, and it deeply saddens me. Whether it's Carolina, Kansas City, Memphis, or Texas style barbeque I'm down. Personally, I'm more of a dry rub kinda girl, but seriously I have no prejudice. I'll try it all. There is a place in NY near my apartment that calls itself "Texas style BBQ". Of course when I first saw it I was so excited to have a piece of home in the city. Once I went inside I quickly realized that this was nothing like what I was used to. Apparently they fry their meat, like in a pan, and then put sauce on it. Needless to say, I did not even try it.

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Even though Southerners of New York miss their BBQ and Mexican food, I think it's safe to say that we miss down home cooking even more. Who doesn't want to start out their day with chicken fried steak that's bigger than their face? I went to the Houston Rodeo a few weeks ago when I was home, and I was reminded of how many things you can deep fry, like oreos, nutella, and poptarts. But even when it's not rodeo season the South has no shortage of fried foods, such as, but definitely not limited to: chicken fried steak, fired okra, and fried pickles.

I think it's safe to say that it's obvious why Southerners of New York really miss southern food.﻿